Bill > S2164

Introduced Session

This bill provides for the suspension of driver's license for certain offenses and acknowledges the repeal of N.J.S.A.2B:12-31. In general, the courts have been instituting reforms over the last few years and judges no longer issue warrants when someone fails to pay a monetary fine. Prior to 2019, in lieu of issuing bench warrants, municipal court judges commonly suspended a defendant's driver's license for failure to pay court ordered financial penalties pursuant to N.J.S.A.2B:12-31. With the enactment of P.L.2019, c.276, this statutory authority was repealed, which significantly impacted the Judiciary's ability to enforce court orders and ensure a defendant's appearance before the court in municipal court matters. The Administrative Office of the Courts has previously indicated that without this authority, the courts no longer have meaningful leverage to compel court appearances with court orders. This bill provides for a mechanism to enforce court appearances and payment of municipal fines and fees. This bill also provides for a six-month grace period from the effective date for individuals to pay outstanding fines and fees. Separately, New Jersey law already provides for instances where financial hardship or other individual circumstances are taken into account for payment of fines and dues. For instance, N.J.S.A.2B:12-23.1 provides, in part, that if municipal courts find that a person does not have the ability to pay a penalty in full on the date of a hearing, or has failed to pay a previously imposed penalty, the court may order the person to perform community service in lieu of payment or establish a payment plan. If a person defaults on a payment, and the court finds that the defendant does not have the ability to pay, the court may grant a number of different forms of relief including, but not limited to, reducing, suspending, modifying, or revoking a penalty or installment plan. In certain other cases, the courts may order the person to perform community service in lieu of payment of the penalty. This bill provides for the courts to issue a show case or a bench warrant in instances where no financial hardship is found. This bill also acknowledges that N.J.S.A.2B:12-31 has been repealed by P.L.2019, c.276. This section had authorized the municipal court to suspend driver's licenses for various non-driving offenses. Even though the courts have acknowledged that N.J.S.A.2B:12-31 is, in fact, repealed, the repealed statute was inadvertently amended by section 63 of P.L.2021, c.16. To eliminate any confusion, this bill acknowledges that N.J.S.A. 2B:12-31 has been repealed by the 2019 enactment and was not revived or revised by the amendatory section in the 2021 enactment.

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Paul Moriarty (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee (on 01/13/2026)

Official Document